Dr Yarjan Abdul Samad is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Khalifa University, UAE and a Senior Research Associate and Senior Teaching Fellow at The University of Cambridge. He is also the Chief Technology Advisor to a climate change company called Levidian based out of Cambridge, UK, which is transforming waste gas resources to graphene and hydrogen. His research work is based on developing graphene & 2d materials-based technologies for Space and Aerospace. He was among the team of scientists on European Space Agency (ESA)’s Zero Gravity flights who were the first to test Graphene in microgravity. He has also tested graphene-based materials for applications in space using Sounding Rockets. He is a member of the Science Team of Rashid Rover, which is due for launch within 2022, by MBRSC, UAE. He is the recipient of several awards such as Young Leaders Award 2020 by the UK’s Young Professional Society, The Innovator of The Year by the technology development company, Pakistan foreign affairs award for twenty-five under the age of 40 talents of Pakistani origin abroad, The Outstanding Research Reviewer of the year 2017 by the Royal Society of Chemistry UK, Nano Today Best Scientific Presentation, and many other Best Scientific Talks awards at international conferences. In addition to research, he has taught parts of a graduate course on graphene technology at the University of Cambridge. He is a proud graduate of Khalifa University. Prior to moving abroad, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) in Pakistan. He graduated from GIKI with two gold medals (one for best academic performance and another for best overall performance).

Dr. Abusafieh is responsible for the advanced materials business segment and R&D strategy & initiatives for Strata. His role includes asset management of an aerospace materials joint venture as well as developing new opportunities for investments in the materials sector. His R&D role involves fostering collaboration programs with OEMs and academia to develop new technologies in support of Strata and other UAE Clusters businesses.

Dr. Abusafieh has over 25 years of industry experience in the aerospace and advanced materials fields, covering a range of aircraft and spacecraft programs and technologies. His prior US employment includes Composite Optics Inc., Alliant Techsystems (Currently part of RTX), and Cytec Engineered Materials (currently Solvay). He holds six patents and sits on several advisory & management boards. Dr. Abusafieh obtained his Ph.D. from Drexel University, his Masters from Villanova University, and his Bachelor’s from the University of Jordan. He has received several government and industry awards for his contributions to the aerospace industry.

Fahad Al Absi serves as the Director of Commercialization and Special Projects at the Research and Innovation Center for Graphene and 2D Materials (RIC2D) at Khalifa University, where he plays an instrumental role in shaping the commercialization strategy for groundbreaking technologies. With the resolute vision to catalyze the commercialization of 2D Materials, Fahad is entrusted with the planning and implementation of multi-faceted commercial strategies that drive investment, research, and industry collaboration.

A highly accomplished professional with over thirty-two years of diverse experience, Fahad has held key positions in government, semi-government, and private sectors. He has a rich history in pioneering commercial roles, notably as the CEO of Al Jasoor Heavy Vehicles, part of the EDGE Group, and as the Chief Commercial Officer at NIMR Automotive. Fahad was the first person to be recognized as the Official Honorary Advisor to ATLA MOD Japan globally, signifying his unparalleled expertise and contributions to industry growth.

Fahad is no stranger to technology; his acumen encompasses AI, IoT, Cloud Computing, Autonomous Systems, and much more. He has negotiated projects on national and international scales, valued at over 1 billion USD.

As the Director of Special Projects at Khalifa University, Fahad is also spearheading initiatives to nurture technology startups and spin-offs related to Graphene and 2D materials. His hands-on approach in establishing Science and Technology Parks within the university embodies his commitment to nurturing the next wave of tech innovators.

Fahad’s commitment to knowledge-sharing and mentorship, alongside his mastery in business development, strategy formulation, and commercialization, makes him a linchpin in translating scientific discoveries into commercially viable products and services. With RIC2D, Fahad aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry, accelerating the mass adoption of 2D materials and related technologies.

Professor Abu Al-Rub is currently the Leader of ADAM (Advanced Digital & Additive Manufacturing) Group and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Khalifa University. He has been a Professor at Texas A&M University. His primary research field of interests are in employing digital design and 3D printing for creating multifunctional architected materials and composites for various engineering applications. He has published one book, 6 patents in additive manufacturing, and over 250 publications. He has served as the principle/co-principal investigator of more than 30 projects; he is responsible for more than $35Million. In 2007, he has been recognized by the US National Science Foundation and US Department of Energy for designing new grades of advanced high strength steels for the automotive industry. He has been among the Scholar Google 100 Most Cited Authors in Civil Engineering. He has been recognized by the 2022 Abdel Hamid Shoman Foundation Arab Researchers Award for his work on nanomaterials.

Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, CRC, Technical University Munich, 2023-24
Visiting Scholar, CCEI, University of Delaware, 2016-17
Postdoctoral Research Associate, NSF-CBiRC, University of Virginia, 2011-2013
M. S. & Ph.D University of Virginia (UVA), 2006-2011
B. Tech. IIT Guwahati, 2006

P. Alpuim holds a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from IST-Lisbon (2003), where he worked on thin-film silicon devices on plastic substrates for flexible electronics. He is a research group leader at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Braga. The group grows graphene and other 2D materials by CVD and LPE, fabricating bio-sensing devices, different environmental sensors, and optoelectronic and quantum devices at the wafer scale. He has an appointment as a professor at the Physics department of the University of Minho.

Education:
2002, Ph.D. Physics, University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, NY, USA
1998, MS Physics, University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, NY, USA
Selected Career History
2019-Present Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
2011-2019 King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, KSA.
2009-2011 Research Scientist, Thermo-Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA.

Dr. Mark A. Bissett is currently the CSO (Chief Scientific Officer) and a founder of Molymem Ltd, a spin-out company from the University of Manchester which is developing 2D nanomaterial based membranes for use in the water filtration industry. Alongside this role, he is an academic in the Department of Materials at the University of Manchester. He has a large research group with significant funding where he focuses on the formulation and testing of nanomaterial membranes, energy storage technologies, and polymer nanocomposites.

Dr Sivasambu Bohm received his first degree in Chemical Engineering, followed by an MSc at Hahn Meitner Institute (Max Planck Institute) in Berlin. After gaining his PhD at the University of Bath in Chemistry, he worked at different academic institutions, University of Swansea, TU Delft, The University of Birmingham and India Institute of Technology, Bombay, University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. Siva has 20 years of industrial experience (TATA, Talga, CAMI, VEMS, Ceylon Graphite and AM) in various research fields; metallurgy, protective coatings, energy storage in the automotive industry, smart coatings and nanotechnology, synthesis, and applications of graphene. Dr Bohm has published 40 patents and 98 scientific publications. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of Technical Surface Coatings. Dr Bohm has been awarded the Royal Society Industry Fellowship initial at University of Cambridge, Cambridge Graphene Centre from 2017 and till 2021 fellowship at Imperial College London and AM Commercial UK Ltd, also Chief Scientific Officer of Ceylon Graphite Corp. Dr Bohm was Director of R&D in Zhejiang Hanano R&D and creating Industrialisation in Middle east and Europe customers.

Francesco Bonaccorso gained the PhD from the University of Messina. In 2009 he was awarded a Royal Society Newton International Fellowship at Cambridge University, and elected to a Research Fellowship at Hughes Hall, Cambridge, where he also obtained a MA. He is the Scientific Director of BeDimensional SpA and visiting Scientist at the Istituto Ital-iano di Tecnologia. He is author of 17 patent families and more than 200 publications that have been cited more than 40000 times. He was featured as 2016 Emerging Investigator by J. Mater. Chem. A and in 2019 by ChemPlusChem. In 2018 he was recognized as Highly cited Scientist by Clarivate Analytics. In 2019 he received the Magister Peloritanus by Ac-cademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti and ExAllievi Eccellenti by the University of Messina. He co-founded Cambridge Graphene Ltd and BeDimensional SpA.

Peter Bøggild is a professor and head of the 2D Materials Engineering and Physics (2DPHYS) section at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). He completed his PhD in low-temperature mesoscopic physics at the University of Copenhagen in 1998. His research is centered on the fundamental properties and technological applications of 2D materials, such as graphene, with a focus on nanofabrication, terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, band gap engineering, and programming of quantum and phase properties of 2D and oxide materials. A key contributor to the European Graphene Flagship, Peter has pioneered work on THz metrology for graphene, co-developing one of the first international measurement for graphene. He has authored over 220 peer-reviewed articles and holds multiple patents.

Dr Chiara Busà, Lead Researcher, ventured into energy materials since her master at Università degli Studi di Firenze (Italy), fabricating energy transfer films for PV applications, shifting to plasmon solar cells when she joined Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden). After moving to the UK for her PhD in chemical engineering, developing optically responsive surfaces by electrochemistry, she joined the Warwick Manufacturing Group and has since worked on battery science. As part of the Faraday Institution and later Catapult, she was involved a variety of projects toward the implementation of characterisation techniques for battery forensics, with both academic and commercial partners.

He received his PhD from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in 2000 and joined the mechanical engineering department at Sungkyunkwan University as a faculty. He founded Enjet co Ltd., a spin-off start-up company from his research laboratory, in 2009 and commercialized novel electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing and high performance dispensing technologies, and MEMS devices. He has successfully supplied ultra-fine printing and coating solutions for a variety of industries, including the display, semiconductor, mobile phone, battery, and biomedical industries

Giulio Cerullo is a Full Professor with the Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, where he leads the Ultrafast Optical Spectroscopy laboratory. Prof. Cerullo’s research activity covers a broad area known as “Ultrafast Optical Science”, and concerns on the one hand pushing our capabilities to generate and manipulate ultrashort light pulses, and on the other hand using such pulses to capture the dynamics of ultrafast events in molecular and solid-state systems. He has published over 500 papers which have received >30000 citations (H-index: 88 on Scopus). He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, of the European Physical Society and of the Accademia dei Lincei and past Chair of the Quantum Electronics and Optics Division of the European Physical Society. He is the recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant (2012-2017) on two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy of biomolecules. He has been General Chair of the conferences CLEO/Europe 2017, Ultrafast Phenomena 2018 and the International Conference on Raman Spectroscopy 2020. In 2023, he received the Quantum Electronics Prize of the European Physical Society. He is the co-founder of two spin off companies (NIREOS and Cambridge Raman Imaging).

Alban CHESNEAU, Carbon Waters’ CEO. With a PhD in Biochemistry and a Master's degree in Business Administration, Alban specializes in technology marketing and start-up strategy for highly innovative businesses. He has accompanied the development of young innovative companies in the fields of Chemistry and Life Sciences. Prior to the creation of Carbon Waters, Alban held positions in R&D project management, in consulting to innovative companies and in business unit management for innovative products.

Paolo Colombo is a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Italy. Previously, he was an assistant professor at the University of Padova and an associate professor at the University of Bologna. He is also an adjunct professor at the Pennsylvania State University and an honorary professor at University College London, UK. He was a Foreign Scientist at INSA, Lyon, France, a DGF Mercator Professor at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany, an Academic Advisor at the Harbin Institute of Technology, China and a Visiting Professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He is an Academician of the World Academy of Ceramics, the European Academy of Sciences, the Academia Europaea, the Italian Academy of Engineering and Technology and a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (UK) and the European Ceramic Society. He has received several prizes, was a Fulbright Scholar at the Pennsylvania State University and is the Past President of the International Ceramic Federation (ICF) and Vice President of the Italian Ceramic Society. Paolo Colombo’s research interests include Additive Manufacturing routes to architected glasses and ceramics, the development of ceramic components from preceramic polymers and geopolymers, and the upcycling of industrial and natural waste

Lucia Gemma Delogu is head of the Immune-Nano Lab at the University of Padua, Italy, and an Associate Professor at Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE. She acquired her experience in Material Science, Immunology, and Nanobiotechnology at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, USA) and the Sanford-Burnham Institute (San Diego, USA) as a postdoctoral fellow. She served the University of Sassari, Italy, as an Assistant Professor and was recruited in 2019 and promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Padua, Italy. Moreover, she has been a visiting Professor at Technische Universität Dresden (TUD; Dresden, Germany) and New York University Abu Dhabi (UAE). Prof. Delogu has been the Scientific Coordinator of several interdisciplinary European projects funded by the European Commission involving over 20 partners in Europe, the USA, and the Middle East in Academia and Industry. Prof. Delogu obtained over 6M euros in sponsored research activities; she has received several awards, including the “Marie S. Curie Individual Fellow,” the “200 Young Best Talents of Italy 2011” from the Italian Ministry of Youth, and the “Bedside to Bench & Back Award” from the National Institutes of Health, USA. She introduced the “NanoImmunity-by-design” concept and pioneered the use of high-dimensional single-cell approaches, including the use of single-cell mass cytometry in the context of 2D materials and air pollutants. Her works appeared in major journals, including Nature Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials, Nature Communications, Nano Today, and ACS Nano. Cumulatively, her studies contribute to immunology, biomedicine, and material science

Dr Stephen Devine, CTO Graphene Composites Ltd. Steve has over 30 years of experience in Senior R&D roles within multinational chemical companies. Following a PhD studying the production and incorporation of nanoparticles into polymers, Steve established a proven track record in producing disruptive new technologies across a wide range of market sectors and taking them to market. Steve combines his deep knowledge of nanotechnology with a practical, cross-disciplinary approach; in the framework of GC’s agile development process, this has enabled him to develop, test and refine several formulations quickly and effectively, saving GC a significant amount of time and making our products cheaper to produce.

Aldo Di Carlo is Full Professor of Optoelectronics and Nanoelectronics at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Department of Electronics Engineering. Leader of the Nano&Optoelectronic research group - http://www.optolab.uniroma.it at the Department of Electronic Engineering and member of the IEEE Electron Devices Society. His research activity concerns the study of electronic and optical properties of nanostructured devices, their analysis, optimization and technology. The development of the non-equilibrium theory for the microscopic description of the transport process in organic/inorganic devices and thermal processes at nanoscale has been the subject of invited talks at international conferences and University seminars. In the last years his researches have focussed on the study and fabrication of organic devices. Research activities in carbon nanotubes have been quite successful leading to the realization cold cathode vacuum triode based on CNT cathode for THz generation. The research activity of organic optoelectronic devices has been consider of excellence and the Lazio Region has sponsored this activity funding the "Polo Solare Organico della Regione Lazio", namely the Center for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE) where Prof. A. Di Carlo is co-director. The aim of the Center is the study and development of organic photovoltaic cells and their industrialization. Prof. Di Carlo has organized, together with Prof. Lugli, IEEE 2004 Nanotechnology Conference in Munich. Prof. Di Carlo is author/co-author of more than 300 scientific publications in international journals, several reviews on electronic and optoelectronic devices, 7 patents, several book chapters and co-author of two books (in Italian language) and has been invited to more than 40 invited talk at international conferences. Prof. Di Carlo has an h-factor = 38. The results of his research have been used to realize 5 spin-off companies dealing with ICT and Energy technologies

Dr. Ludovic (ludo) DUMEE is an Assistant Professor at Khalifa University (Abu Dhabi, UAE) working on the development of new separation materials and processes. Ludo is a material engineer with a heart for innovation and industry engagement. His team worked with multiple stakeholders in the USA, UAE, Europe and Australia and is currently focused on the development of advanced separation materials stemming from the properties of nanoscale structures tackling environmental challenges towards net-zero technologies towards green desalination, air-to-water production and resource recovery. Ludo has been leading several decarbonization initiatives and is the Theme lead focused on Decarbonization within the Research and Innovation Center on 2D Nanomaterials (RIC2D) at Khalifa University. He manages activities related to energy transition, low-carbon footprint nanomaterials synthesis and the role of nanomaterials to support greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Vladimir Fal’ko MAE is condensed matter theorist who made fundamental contributions towards understanding physical properties of various two-dimensional (2D) materials, including graphene, 2D transition metals dichalcogenides, simple-metal chalcogenides, moiré superlattice effects in heterostructures of 2D materials and twistronic structures. Fal’ko initiated the Graphene Week Conference series (which runs annually since 2006), during 2014-2021 he was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the IoP 2D Materials Journal, and, during 2012-2023, he was among the initiators and leaders of the EU Graphene Flagship Project. Since 2015, Fal’ko is Director of National Graphene Institute at Manchester and 2D Materials Theme Lead in Henry Royce Institute

Prof. Feng is a full professor and the head of the Chair of Molecular Functional Materials at Technische Universität Dresden. He has published more than 510 research articles which have attracted more than 62700 citations with H-index of 119 (Google Scholar). He has been awarded several prestigious prizes such as IUPAC Prize for Young Chemists (2009), European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant Award (2012), Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship Award (2013), ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship (2014), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC, 2014), Highly Cited Researcher (Thomson Reuters, 2014-2019), Small Young Innovator Award (2017), Hamburg Science Award (2017), EU-40 Materials Prize (2018), ERC Consolidator Grant Award (2018). He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences (2019) and member of the Academia Europaea (2019). He is an Advisory Board Member for Advanced Materials, Chemical Science, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, ChemNanoMat, Energy Storage Materials, Small Methods, Chemistry -An Asian Journal, Trends in Chemistry, etc. He is the Head of ESF Young Research Group "Graphene Center Dresden", Working Package Leader of WP Functional Foams & Coatings for European Commission’s pilot project “Graphene Flagship”, and spokesperson for the DFG Collaborative Research Center for the Chemistry of Synthetic 2D Materials.

Andrea C. Ferrari earned a PhD in electrical engineering from Cambridge University, after a Laurea in nuclear engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. He is Professor of Nanotechnology and the Director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre and of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology. He is Fellow of Pembroke College, the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics and the Materials Research Society. His research interests include nanomaterials growth, modelling, characterization, and devices. He was awarded the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award for Innovation, the Marie Curie Excellence Award, the Philip Leverhulme Prize, The EU-40 Materials Prize, The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. He is also the Chairman of the Executive Board of the EU Graphene Flagship

Costas Galiotis is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the ERC Advanced – Tailoring Graphene project. He is a Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering (Univ. of Patras) and former Director of the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (ICE-HT) which is one of the 7 academic research institutions of the Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH). In its over 26 years of operation FORTH/ ICE-HT has developed into a world-leading centre for the advancement of high quality scientific knowledge in the fields of material science and in the computer aided design and simulation of new materials and processes. It comprises of approximately 150 personnel and has a running yearly budget of 5 M€. Prof. Galiotis is also a member of the Board of Directors of FORTH (since July 2007). FORTH has been ranked as the first Research Centre in the field domain in Greece in 3 successive evaluations. Prof. Galiotis had an auspicious term of office as Director of the Institute in the years 2009-2014. Being also the coordinator of the Hellenic participation and national representative of “Graphene” he contributed in establishing the Graphene Center by joining the research forces of three FORTH institutes, ICE-HT, IESL and ICAM. Despite the Country's intense economic situation he expanded the Institute by literally setting the foundations to the Institute's new modern building that will house research laboratories.

Sir Andre Geim is Regius Professor at the University of Manchester. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking work on graphene. He has also received numerous international awards and distinctions, including medals from the Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences, and holds honorary doctorates and professorships from many countries and universities. Thomson-Reuters repeatedly named him among the world’s most active scientists and attributed to him three new research fronts – diamagnetic levitation, gecko tape and graphene. More than thirty of his papers have been cited >1,000 times with six of them >10,000 times. He was awarded the 2000 Ig Nobel prize for his work on levitation, becoming the first and only recipient of both Nobel and Ig Nobel Prizes.

Dr. Yury Gogotsi is Distinguished University Professor and Charles T. and Ruth M. Bach Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University. He also serves as Director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute. He received his MS (1984) and PhD (1986) from Kiev Polytechnic and a DSc degree from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in 1995. His research group works on 2D carbides and nitrides (MXenes), nanostructured carbons, and other nanomaterials for energy, water and biomedical applications. He published more than 800 papers, which have been cited more than 170,000 times. He has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher in Chemistry and Materials Science, and a Citations Laureate in Physics by Clarivate Analytics. He has received numerous awards for his research including a Chemistry of Materials Award from ACS, MRS Medal, S. Somiya Award from IUMRS, European Carbon Association Award, Materials Innovation Award from Materials Today, International Nanotechnology Prize (RUSNANOPrize), R&D 100 Awards from R&D Magazine and many other distinctions. He has been elected a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, World Academy of Ceramics, AAAS, MRS, ACerS, ECS, RSC and ISE. He holds honorary doctorates from several European universities

Dr Monserrat Gutierrez has a double Ph.D., one in Materials Science from Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France; and the second one in Electrochemistry from the Research Center and Technological Development in Electrochemistry, Mexico. Her research interest involves the synthesis of coatings, electrochemistry for nanomaterials, graphene, and holey graphene for different applications. Currently, Monserrat, is leading the Nanomaterials team in AMRC.

Kari has 20 years experience in building up corporate research and venture activities. He has been the founder and CEO of several start-up companies, as well as worked as director at Nokia Ventures Organization and at Nokia Research Centre. Dr. Kari Hjelt holds a PhD in Engineering Physics from Helsinki University of Technology, as well as an Executive MBA from the London Business School. Currently Kari works as Head of Innovation at the Graphene Flagship, where he also is a member of the Management Panel and the Executive Board

Plinio Innocenzi is full professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sassari and Director of the Laboratory of Materials Science and Nanotechnology. He studied physics at the University of Padova and did his postdoc at the University of Kyoto in Japan from 1993 to 1996. He has served from 2010 to 2018 as science counsellor at the Embassy of Italy in China. He has published more than 240 scientific articles on nanoscience and sol-gel and hybrid organic-inorganic chemistry. His research interests include nanomaterials for photonics and nanobiotechnologies synthesised via chemical routes. He is Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Fellow of the of International Sol-Gel Society

Dr. Jang is a Co-Founder and CEO of Global Graphene Group, Inc. (G3), which includes Angstron Materials, Inc. (AMI) and Honeycomb Battery Co. (HBC). He received his MS and PhD degrees in Materials Science from MIT. Dr. Jang is a former Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Wright State University (2005-2015) and a former Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at North Dakota State University (2002-2005). During the period 1982-2002, Dr. Jang served as a faculty member in the Materials Engineering Program and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University. He was a Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor (and an Overseas Fellow of the Churchill College) with the University of Cambridge (1991-1992). Dr. Jang filed world’s first patent application on graphene in 2002. He is a co-inventor of 680+ US patents and 200+ international patents (issued and pending). He was elected as a fellow of National Academy of Inventors in 2019. Dr. Jang and Dr. Aruna Zhamu, co-founded Angstron Materials, Inc. (AMI) in 2007 and Taiwan Graphene Co. (TGC) in 2013 for scaling up production of graphene and graphene oxide. AMI/TGC is world’s first producer of single-layer graphene oxide and graphene nano-intermediates. The team was world’s first to study the application of graphene materials in energy storage and conversion (e.g. supercapacitors, batteries, and fuel cells) and thermal management. The team has the world’s first patents on graphene applications in graphene composite materials (2002), hydrogen storage (2004), fuel cells (2005), supercapacitors (2006), thermal management (2007), and batteries (2007). Some of these products have been commercialized. They also invented some of the most widely implemented graphene production processes, including liquid phase exfoliation method (2007), supercritical fluid exfoliation processes (2006), and electrochemical exfoliation method (2007).

Dr. Ammar Jarrar is a distinguished professional, currently serving as the Associate Director for Commercialization at the Research and Innovation Center in Graphene and 2D Materials (RIC2D) at Khalifa University for Science and Technology. With a focus on developing and managing smart and sustainable programs, he is at the forefront of addressing crucial challenges in business development and commercialization initiatives related to Graphene and 2D Materials.

With a career spanning over three decades, Dr. Jarrar has earned global recognition as a Technical Advisor and Programs Director, demonstrating expertise in integrated water management, program management, business development, stakeholder's management, innovation, R&D, smart cities, and the water industry.

Throughout his illustrious journey, Dr. Jarrar has showcased his versatility in handling diverse program management initiatives. From operational and project management to contributing effectively and managing executive board meetings, he has consistently delivered outstanding results in the development and execution of sustainable programs.

Dr. Jarrar's profound impact extends to the successful formulation of strategic plans and implementation frameworks, leading to the design and realization of pioneering smart cities and water management initiatives. He has been instrumental in delivering highly efficient and effective programs, focusing on sustainable smart cities and innovative water strategies.

An accomplished researcher and prolific writer, Dr. Jarrar has published numerous articles and reports in esteemed journals such as WRR Journal, IAHS, ASCE, IAHR, and IRF. His contributions as an author and contributor to various reports and studies in the field of sustainability and water resources management and planning have further solidified his reputation as a thought leader in the industry.

With an unwavering commitment to advancing technology and sustainable practices, Dr. Ammar Jarrar continues to inspire and lead the way in the dynamic landscape of graphene and 2D materials research and commercialization.

Chris Jung serves as an Application Engineer at Park Systems HQ, where he leverages his extensive expertise in the field of materials science. A proud graduate of Kyunghee University, Chris holds a degree in Physics, laying a strong foundation for his research endeavors.
During his academic journey, he honed his skills in the fabrication and analysis of two-dimensional materials, particularly Graphene and Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDCs), utilizing advanced techniques such as Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. His research primarily focused on elucidating the properties of laterally grown MoS₂ and WS₂, contributing valuable insights to the field.
Now, as an Application Engineer at Park Systems, Chris specializes in measuring the electrical, mechanical, and biological properties of materials using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). His role involves not only advancing research but also providing innovative solutions to complex challenges in nanotechnology

Ian holds the Royal Academy of Engineering/Morgan Advanced Materials Chair in Carbon Materials at the University of Manchester. His group sits across the Department of Materials, National Graphene Institute and Henry Royce Institute. His research covers the production, processing and use of nanomaterials with a focus on the energy transition (power materials and energy storage) and composite applications. He has previously held R.A.Eng/EPSRC Research and EPSRC Challenging Engineering Fellowships

Satheesh Krishnamurthy is a Professor/Director of UK National Ion Beam Centre and the Surrey Ion Beam Centre, Advanced Technology Institute, ATI. His current research focuses on functionalisation and plasma printing of two-dimensional (2D) materials and developing catalytic 2D material for wastewater treatment and other sustainable technologies. He has published over 100 highly cited peer-reviewed research articles, including several in Nature Nanotechnology and other journals. He has also received research grants from European Union, UKRI, UKEIRI, Innovate UK, Brazilian fellowship, GIAN, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society, Commonwealth and FCDO to address sustainable material and addressing its challenges in recycling of batteries, industry wastewater treatment, superhydrophobic coatings for solar cells and green hydrogen production. He received UK India research excellence award.

Emmanuel Kymakis is a Full Professor at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU) and Director of the Institute of Emerging Technologies of the HMU Center for Research & Innovation. He earned his PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Cambridge in 2003. His multidisciplinary research lies at the interface between nanotechnology and electrical engineering and is centred on the development of printed optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices. He has published more than 150 research articles, which have attracted over 12.000 citations and an h-index of 58, while he has an extensive experience in the management of research and industrial projects (8,5 M€ research funding, design & implementation of 67 MWp of PV parks). Ηe is also included in the list of the top 2% of scientists in their respective fields by citation impact (PLoS Biol 17(8), e3000384). He has been an honorary lecturer at UConn and a recipient of an Isaac Newton and an EPSRC studentship. He was named as a 2014 ChemComm Emerging Investigator and has received three National Excellence Awards. He has served as a member of the founding General Assembly of the Hellenic Foundation for Research & Innovation (HFRI), a member of the Engineering sectoral scientific council of the National Council for Research & Innovation of Greece (NCRI) and the work package leader of Energy Generation of the EU FET-Flagship Initiative Graphene

Prof. Kin Liao was trained in engineering science and mechanics and earned his Ph.D. degree from Virginia Tech (USA). He had spent two years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Northwestern University as a visiting scientist before joining Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and served there for 13 years. He was one of the founding faculty of NTU’s Bioengineering Division and had served as Director for NTU’s BioInformatics Research Center from 2004-2006. Since 2011, he joined Khalifa University’s Department of Aerospace Engineering/Mechanical engineering. During his tenure at KU, he had served as Interim Chair for both the Mechanical Engineering Department and the Aerospace Engineering Department. Prof. Liao’s research include advanced materials for aerospace, senor, and energy applications; nano-materials and nano-mechanics; cell mechanics, as well as durability of composite materials. Prof. Liao's current research interests are in 2D heterogeneous materials and novel multi-phased composites for aerospace applications. Prof. Liao has authored and coauthored more than 170 technical papers in leading international journals

Rahul R. Nair is a Carlsberg/Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair and Professor of Materials Physics at the National Graphene Institute (NGI), and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester. His current research focuses on molecular transport through sub-nanometer two-dimensional (2D) capillaries and developing 2D materials-based membranes for sustainable separation technologies. He has published over 60 highly cited peer-reviewed research articles, including several in Science, Nature, and more than a dozen in the Nature series publications during the last twelve years. He has also received several prestigious awards, such as the Moseley Medal and Prize, ERC grant, the Philip Leverhulme Prize, Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, etc., for his innovative and groundbreaking research. He also has research partnerships with leading industries such as Carlsberg, the US Army, AstraZeneca, ICON Life Saver, etc.

Professor Ammar Nayfeh was born in Urbana IL in 1979. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign in 2001 in electrical engineering and his master's degree in 2003 from Stanford University. Dr. Nayfeh earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2006 under advisor Professor Krishna Saraswat. His research focused on heteroepitaxy of germanium on silicon for electronic and photonic devices. After his PhD, he joined Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) as a researcher working in collaboration with IBM. After that he joined a Silicon Valley startup company, Innovative Silicon (ISi) in 2008. In addition, he was a part time professor at San Jose State University. In June 2010, he joined MIT as a visiting scholar and became a faculty member at Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dr Nayfeh also spent time as visiting professor at Stanford University. His research interest focuses on nanotechnology for future more efficient low power electronic and photonic devices. Professor Nayfeh is currently an associate professor in the Department Electrical Engineering at Khalifa University. Dr Nayfeh is also the electronics lead of the Research & Innovation Center for Graphene and 2D Materials (RIC2D) at Khalifa University. Professor Ammar Nayfeh has authored or co-authored over 150 publications, holds three patents, and published three books. He is a member of MRS, Stanford Alumni Association, Mohammed Bin Rashid Academy of Science (MBRAS) and a senior member of the IEEE. In 2020 Dr Nayfeh was awarded the 10-year golden visa for top scientists in the UAE

Vincenzo Palermo is the director of the CNR Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF) in Bologna, Italy, and associated professor of Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden). He uses nanotechnology and supramolecular chemistry to create new materials for electronics, aerospace and biomedical applications. He published >200 scientific articles on international journals in chemistry, nanotechnology and materials science (>11 000 citations, h-index 54), collaborating with key industrial partners in Europe (Airbus, FCA, Leonardo, BASF, Nokia, STMicroelectronics etc.). He coordinated several EU projects in the past, including being vice-director and member of the executive board of the Graphene Flagship, one of the largest research projects ever launched in Europe. He has been awarded the Lecturer Award for Excellence of the Federation of European Materials Societies (FEMS), the Research Award of the Italian Society of Chemistry (SCI) and the Science dissemination awards of the Italian Book Association. He writes as a columnist for the science magazine SAPERE and has published two books on the life and science of Albert Einstein (Hoepli, Milano, 2015) and of Isaac Newton (Hoepli, Milano, 2016).

Anna-Maria Pappa is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Khalifa University and a visiting professor at Cambridge University. Anna-Maria is currently leading the Bioelectronics and Biosystems on chip group (LAB-BBC) at Khalifa University. Her research combines cutting edge synthetic biology approaches with bioelectronic devices for next generation miniaturized sensors with applications in healthcare and environmental science. She is an associate editor in Scientific Reports, Frontiers in Electronics and a member of the editorial board of Applied Physics Letters. Anna-Maria has received multiple awards for her research including the L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science award, being listed in the Innovators under 35 MIT technology review and several awards in the area of entrepreneurship and innovation

Prof. Kyriaki Polychronopoulou is currently a Full Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Khalifa University, and Visiting Professor at ETH-Zurich. She is also the Founding Director of the Catalysis and Separation Center (CeCaS) at KU, the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates. CeCaS is actively supporting the vision of the UAE towards alterative fuels (hydrogen, biofuels), decarbonization though CO2 conversion to useful fuels and hydrocarbon exploitation. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Cyprus (2005). Before her appointment at Khalifa University she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University (IL, USA) and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (IL, USA). During her independent career, she has also worked as a Research Fellow in the National Physical Laboratory (UK), Texas A&M (USA), and KAIST (Korea).

Prasad Potluri is a Professor of Robotics and Textile Composites, Director of Northwest Composites Centre, and Academic Theme Lead for the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre at the University of Manchester. He has been a High Value Manufacturing CATAPULT Fellow at the National Composites Centre (Bristol) and AMRC (Sheffield). Following a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, he worked as a Design Engineer at Suzuki Motor (1984-90). He then pursued a PhD in Applied Robotics at UMIST. Professor Potluri has extensive industrial collaborations and has received funding of over £18 million and part of consortium grants worth £50million. He has been Manchester PI for the EPSRC Future Composites Manufacturing HUB and the EPSRC Textiles Circularity Centre. In addition, he was Manchester PI for a number of Innovate UK ATI, InnovateUK KTP and EPSRC IAA grants. His research focus has been 3D fibre architectures for advanced composites, Graphene enhanced composites, sustainable fibrous materials. He is a Senior Life-time member of AIAA and its Materials Technical Committee.

Prof. Stephan Roche is a theoretician with more than 25 years’ experience in the study of transport theory in low-dimensional systems, including graphene, carbon nanotubes, semiconducting nanowires, organic materials and topological insulators. He has published more than 250 papers in journals such as Nature, Review of Modern Physics, Nature Physics, Nano Letters and Physical Review Letters and he is the co-author of the book titled “Introduction to Graphene-Based Nanomaterials: From Electronic Structure to Quantum Transport” (Cambridge University Press, 2020-second edition). He received the qualification to supervise PhD students from the Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble, France) in 2004, and since then he has supervised more than ten PhD students and about 25 postdoctoral researchers in France, Germany and Spain. In 2009 Prof. Roche was awarded the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award by the Alexander Von-Humboldt Foundation (Germany) and, since 2011, he has been actively involved in the European Graphene Flagship project as deputy leader of the Spintronics Work Package (WP). He is serving as leader of this WP since April 2020 and will continue until March 2023. He is also Division Leader of the Graphene Flagship.

Associate Professor Dr. Burcu Saner Okan earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Middle East Technical University, Turkey, in 2005. She then went on to complete her Master's degree in 2007 and her Ph.D. in 2011 in the Materials Science and Engineering program at Sabancı University. Since March 2022, Dr. Saner Okan has held the position of academic director at the Sabancı University Composite Research Center. She is also a research faculty member in the Departments of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, as well as Manufacturing Technologies, at Sabancı University. In addition, Dr. Saner Okan is co-founder of NANOGRAFEN Nano Technological Products Company and she is among the first entrepreneurs to successfully complete the TUBITAK 1512 program. Dr. Saner Okan develops cost-effective and lightweight automotive composites parts reinforced by waste tire-derived Graphene NanoPlatelet with part producers and leading OEM partners. Additionally, she is involved in sustainable advanced materials research, creating compound solutions using recycled and natural sources for thermoplastic processing. As a co-founder of Euronova Next-Generation Sustainable Plastic Materials Company, she contributes to producing sustainable compounds with recycled additives for various plastic applications. Throughout her career, Dr. Saner Okan has secured funding totaling $5.0 million for national and international projects at Sabancı University. Her areas of expertise include graphene, polymer nanocomposites, compounding, surface chemistry, electrospinning, recycling, upcycling, and circular economy practices. She has more than 50 articles published in international journals, 8 book chapters, 2 patents and presented over 50 conference papers in these fields.

Ugo Sassi is a manager and innovator who loves creating, testing and exploring new graphene technologies. He has 13 years’ experience in graphene production, functionalization, processing and applications. He has a PhD in Graphene from The University of Cambridge, where he worked with IBM, Philips, Samsung and Nokia Bell Labs. Following his PhD, he joined Nokia Bell Labs for 5 years as a senior researcher and principal investigator in the graphene field. He then worked with Danaher, developing ink-jet printing technologies and boosting them from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 to TRL 6. Ugo holds 13 patents and 25 publications in high-impact factor, peer-reviewed journals, such as Nature Communications.

Dr Carlo Saverio Iorio – Is an adjunct professor at the York University in Toronto - Canada and director of the Centre for Research and Engineering in Space Technologies of the University of Brussels - Belgium. He has more than 25 years of experience in Space-related science and technology programmes. His interests are mainly in heat and mass transfer phenomena, and material science for biomedical applications, and recently he inaugurated an artificial intelligence unit in his research group. At present, he coordinates several European Space Agency-supported experiments in microgravity taking advantage of the available Space platforms including sounding rockets, parabolic flights, satellite capsules and the International Space Station. Recently, he has been appointed as an expert on Space policy at the European Commission General Directorate on Defence, Space, and Industries. He is also a member of the European Space Agency strategic group for the design and implementation of future European Policies in Space. He has been recently appointed as part of the Belgian Delegation for Space at the European Defence Agency

Ali Shaygan Nia is a group leader at the Chair of Molecular Functional Materials at TU Dresden since 2018, and at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics since 2023. He also serves as the Business Developer of Graphene Flagship from 2020-2023. He received his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Isfahan University of Technology (Iran) and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany). He is the inventor of more than 10 patents and patent applications and recently won with his team a prestigious innovation project in Germany (EXIST Transfer of Research) to bring printed batteries and supercapacitors to commercialization level. His current interests include the exfoliation and functionalization of new 2D materials via wet chemistry, the development of functional 2D material inks/pastes/formulations for printing technologies, and the fabrication of energy storage devices beyond lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) such as supercapacitors, dual-ion batteries and zinc batteries

Zdeněk Sofer has been a Full Professor at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Czech Republic, since 2019. He also received his Ph.D. at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague in 2008. During his Ph.D., he spent one year at Forschungszentrum Julich (Peter Grünberg Institute, Germany), followed by postdoctoral experience in University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. His research interests include semiconductors and 2D materials, their synthesis, crystal growth, chemical modifications and functinalization. He is particularly focused on various applications of two-dimensional materials including energy storage and conversion. He has published more than 350 papers, received more than 13,000 citations, and has the h-index of 56. He was the recipient of the Rector award for young researcher in 2013 and 2016 as well as the Neuron Impulse award in 2016 and the award of the Czech Science Foundation President and the UCT Prague rector award in 2019.

Mamoun Taher is a distinguished deep tech entrepreneur and award-winning founder, currently serving as the CEO and CTO of Graphmatech in Sweden. He leads a passionate and high-performing team, leveraging the power of graphene - the Nobel Prize-winning material - to enable and accelerate the green transition. Mamoun is driven by a passion for solving complicated challenges through innovation and leadership and converting technical breakthroughs into commercial values.

Navya Thomas is a Senior Researcher in the Water Technologies group within the Renewable and Sustainable Research Center at the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi. Her current research focuses on membrane-assisted crystallization and resource recovery through brine valorization. She has received several prestigious awards for her work, including being named one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering in the UK for invention and innovation in 2022. Navya holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Khalifa University (UAE) and an MSc in Water and Wastewater Engineering from Cranfield University (UK). Before pursuing her doctoral studies, she worked as a Process Engineer at AECOM (UAE) and as a Research Assistant at Severn Trent Water (UK).

Prof. Rehan Umer is a full professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KUST), Abu Dhabi, UAE. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Center for Advanced Composite Materials (CACM), The University of Auckland, New Zealand in 2008. He then worked as Research Engineer at the newly established Airbus helicopter site in Brisbane, Australia. He then moved to the USA and worked as a Post Doc. Research Fellow at the Composite Vehicle Research Center (CVRC), Michigan State University, USA on polymer composites processing for vehicle applications. In 2012, he started his academic career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, KUST, Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is the co-founder of the Aerospace Engineering department and the Advanced Research and Innovation Center (ARIC) at KUST. Prof. Umer has also been the acting chair of the department in 2021. Prof. Umer’s research has been focused on advanced composites manufacturing covering both experimental and modelling studies. Dr. Umer has worked very closely with several academic institutes, research centers and industries around the globe. Prof. Umer has four US patents, authored and co-authored books, book chapters, research papers in refereed journals, and presented at a number of international conferences. Prof. Umer’s research interest is in composites manufacturing including, thermoset and thermoplastic composites, smart manufacturing, graphene and 2D materials, liquid composites molding, automated fiber placement, pultrusion, process modelling and simulations, multifunctional nano-composites, 3D printing and additive manufacturing, lightweight lattice and sandwich structures.

Dr. Lourdes F. Vega is a Full Professor in Chemical Engineering, Director and Founder of the Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and Hydrogen (RICH Center) and Theme Lead on Energy and Hydrogen at the Research and Innovation Center for Graphene and 2D materials (RIC2D) at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She has developed her career between academia and industry, with positions in the USA, Spain, and the UAE. An expert on computational modeling and energy, she is internationally recognized for moving fundamental science to the applied world in the areas of clean energy and sustainable products, focused on Hydrogen and its derivatives, CO2 capture and utilization, sustainable fuels, and sustainable cooling systems. The impact of her work has been recognized through several prestigious awards, including, among others, the V60 recognition as one of the 60 impactful Women in the Middle East driving sustainability, and one of the TOP100 Women Leaders in Spain (TOP 10 exterior), both in 2024, the 2020 Mohammed Bin Rashid Medal of Scientific Distinguishment for her contributions in clean energy and sustainable products, and the 2013 Award in Physics, Innovation and Technology by the BBVA Foundation and Spanish Royal Society of Physics. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), an Academician of the Royal Academy of Science of Spain, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academy of Scientists in the UAE, and the Academy of Sciences of Granada. Prof. Vega is a member of the Emirates Scientist Council, the Mission Innovation on Clean Hydrogen (representing the UAE), she also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of several other international institutions and the Board of Directors (non-executive Director) of two companies.

Aravind Vijayaraghavan is Professor of Nanomaterials at The University of Manchester, where he leads the Nanofunctional Materials Group. His research focuses on the development of novel applications of 2-dimensional materials and the underpinning science. He has published over 100 papers in international journals, filed 7 patents and established 2 spin-out companies, Grafine Ltd and Atomic Mechanics Ltd.

Valentyn S. Volkov, PhD, is an internationally renowned expert in the field of nanophotonics and advanced materials, with two decades of experience at leading universities and research centers.

Dr. Xiaofei Xiao is a Lead Researcher on the Metamaterials Team at the Technology Innovation Institute in the UAE. His research focuses on nanoplasmonics, nanophotonics, nonlinear optics, 2D materials, and metamaterials. He has authored numerous articles in top peer-reviewed journals and holds 16 patents in these areas.

Professor Xiao Zhisong
Vice President, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor of Beijing Information Science and Technology University. Research Fields:
1. Luminescent materials and optical amplifier devices/semiconductor lighting and optical communication
2. Micro-nano waveguide gyroscope and technology/navigation, positioning and attitude control
3. Optical Sensing and Quantum Precision Measurement/Vision-based Artificial Intelligence

Professor Linda Zou’s research interests are in the areas of developing 2D materials incorporated membranes, adsorbent and electrodes for more efficient water purification and desalination technologies and cloud seeding materials. She has published numerous journal articles and has filed 5 patents on applying nanomaterials in water technologies. Prof Zou has been named Top 0.5% scholar worldwide by ScholarGPS.